Endangered and Alone
by Roses-of-Envy
Summary: The three Lads have been hunted ever since they could no longer hide their faunus traits, but after a rather eventful and narrow escape, they wind up in even deeper shit. RT/AH Faunus AU, A bunch of mixed pairings.
1. Chapter 1

Michael's breath comes in harsh pants, which he attempts to quiet as he hears the pounding footsteps of the Hunters run underneath the branch he is precariously perched on. He puts a hand over his nose and mouth in an attempt to quiet his heavy breathing as one of the Hunters stop and begin to survey the underbrush and trees, swinging around the flashlight beam close to where he was.

Michael closes his eyes tightly, heart pounding in his ears, as the light passes over, the Hunter yelling "Not Here!" before running off. He let's out the breath he was holding and relaxes against the base of the tree, tail curling around the branch to steady himself. After a few more minutes, to make sure the Hunters were out of hearing range, he whistles lowly, the few tense seconds of silence making panic flow fresh in his veins before a quiet response reaches his ears. It's from about twenty or so feet away as far as he can tell, and quickly after that he glances up as a small whistle comes from right above him. Gavin smiles down at him as he swings his feet around in the cool night air.

Giving a sigh in relief, Michael swings down from the branch to land lightly on the ground, seeing Ray's shadow flit from tree to tree before the man lands gracefully in front of him. He hears the flutter of feathers as Gavin lands less-than gracefully in front of them. Michael rolls his eyes as Gavin mutters under his breath, but looks at the two of them.

"You ok?" He asks quietly, senses on high alert as they remained crouched in the roots of the tree.

"Barely got into the tree time, you assholes have an unfair advantage, I almost got pulled down before you helped me," Ray mutters angrily as he scratches at one of the fluffy ears perched atop his head. His tail swishes irritably behind him, which makes Michael smirk. "

Hey at least you can do it quietly! And Michael has his monkey skills, but my wings make a bloody load of noise!" Gavin protests, his wings quivering in indignation. Ray glares at him, about to retaliate by saying something along the lines of "Cat's aren't meant to climb trees," before Michael interrupts them.

"Shut the fuck up I asked you if you were ok, not if you wanted to have a bitchfight with each other," He huffs, his own tail twitching irritably.

"Yeah, just a bunch of bruises, and I landed on my arm wrong when one of those bastards swiped at my tail, but otherwise I'm all good," Ray shrugs, giving a small thumbs up, "These Hunters are a load of morons, they're stupider than the last group we ran from."

"But they take low blows, one of them kept swingin at my wings! Almost got me a few times too!" Gavin scowls. "Also that guy with the sword caused me to crash into a tree, I got a nasty cut on my leg," Gavin mutters, rubbing at the wound he had wrapped with some torn pieces of his shirt.

"Don't worry bud, he got me too," Michael gestures towards his right arm, where he had yet to wrap the still bleeding wound. Most of the time he had been the one to distract the hunters while Ray could get away or so that Gavin could take to the air.

"Let's hope they don't do anything else too stupi-" Before he could finish that statement Ray claps a hand over his mouth.

"Shhh," Ray hisses, the sound rumbling in is throat. The three of them fall silent as suddenly the sound of returning footsteps and loud voices reach them. Their thoughts stop as their bodies react instantaneously, Ray and Michael jumping toward the nearest tree and scrambling onto the branches, knowing from earlier instances with Hunters that taking the high ground was the easiest. Gavin takes a few seconds to get a running start before jumping to get airborne. He settles quickly beside Michael, and the three of the stare intently at the ground as the Hunters voices get louder.

"Found 'em!" A voice shouts, and panic overruns the three faunus as multiple flashlights land on them, temporarily blinding them since their eyes had adjusted to the night. Gavin immediately starts hopping through the tree branches to get to open air. Michael shoves Ray forward, shouting at the same time for Gavin to get them out. The two of them begin their frantic movements to avoid the lights now trained onto them as the Hunters unsheathe their weapons.

As they bound from tree to tree, Ray looks back to see one of the hunters aiming a sniper rifle at them. He yells at Michael and the two of them split off as a Dust container explodes onto the tree they were previously in. Michael yelps as shards of glass pelt his back, and he's thankful when his tail keeps him from falling to the ground. Similarly, Ray hisses when the remaining shards force him to the ground. He dodges the Hunters and manages to get back into the tree as Gavin dives from his position in the sky to distract them.

"Sorry I can't carry you far Ray, but I can help a bit," Gavin pants, picking Ray up carrying him bridal style to a more secure patch of forest as he dodges arrows.

"Thanks Vav!" Ray grins, now able to easily weave his way through the more open area of trees. Gavin gives him a playful salute as he loops back around to see Michael frantically sprinting through the underbrush. The monkey man screeches as Gavin picks him up without warning to fly quickly to the spot he had dropped off Ray.

"Gavin you fuckass!" Michael growls as Gavin giggles.

"Your welcome!" Michael just snorts as he begins to leap between the trees, ignoring the sound of the Hunters as he catches up with Ray, the two of them now knowing to not remain together for too long since the Hunters were still hot on their could occasionally spot Gavin sweeping large circles over the two of them and the Hunters group, but they didn't expect when Gavin landed quickly on the branch they had both left a moment before.

"They're firing more Dust at random tree's now and they're catching fire," Gavin yells quickly, keeping his wings open as he continues to follow behind Ray and Michael, glancing back repeatedly as the sound of shattering glass and the pungent smell of smoke grows fainter as they move faster.

"Gavin get into the air again!" Michael yells back, "Scout!" Gavin doesn't need to respond as he flies over the two and shoots ahead , leaving them behind temporarily as he finds himself hovering over a clearing a few miles to the west. Looking past it he can spots something that makes him grin, whirling around and flying quickly back to the other two Lads, fear creeping through his pride as he sees the fire growing in size, and he hopes it won't get as far as he thinks. Michael and Ray decide to stick together and do their best to help each other through the thick, blinding haze of smoke. They had long since abandoned the high ground as the trees had caught fire faster than they could move through them.

Through the angry crackling of the fire, Ray hears Gavin yelling at them.

"Michael, Gavin's telling us to get up into the trees again," the cat man coughs, covering his mouth with his arm. Michael taps Ray's arm twice, an unspoken signal of understanding as the two of them climb up a tree, getting as high as they could. They had managed to pull ahead of the Hunters by about half a mile as they sit on the highest branch and try to get their breath back.

"Clearing, two miles," Gavin says quickly as he hovers over the two, becoming worried as the smoke gets thicker.

"Can we get there?" Michael asks, glaring up at Gavin and rubbing at his eyes.

"I can get you two closer, only one at a time though," Gavin says uneasily, eying the flickering flames over the two's shoulders.

"Ray?" Michael looks at the man, questioningly.

"Better than nothing," Ray shrugs. "I should go first because I'm lighter," he jokes, standing unsteadily. Michael snorts.

"You should go first because you suck ass at climbing trees."

"Shut the hell up," Ray laughs, coughing afterwords.

"Get him out of here Gavin, I'll start to head in that direction," Michael says anxiously, dropping down to the ground and beginning to run, and jump from tree to tree, in the direction that Gavin begins flying.

"These damn Hunters are fucking insane, burning down a bloody good forest," Gavin mutters angrily as he books it to the clearing he had seen, ignoring the aching in his wings and back as he flies lower to the treetops in an attempt not to be seen as easy.

"Yeah, I agree with you there Gavin, I think they were hired or something, hired thugs are always dumber," Ray replies, curling is tail close to his body to keep it from clipping tree tops. He sighs gratefully when they manage to get into clearer air, coughing as Gavin swoops unexpectedly down into the clearing. Gavin wincing as he fails at landing and stumbles a few steps. Ray lands easily on his feet and looks at the Brit with concern.

"You going to be alright buddy?" He asks, seeing Gavin continue to wince as he stands.

"Yeah, I won't have to carry Michael as far anyway, i just flew faster than I should've," Gavin grins cheerily, reveling in the silence of the clearing before needlessly brushing off the front of his shirt.

"I'll be back in a few!" He exclaims, taking a few running steps to get into the air before disappearing into the smoke. Ray tracks him until the haze overtakes the Brit's thin form, so he sits on the ground and grimaces at the soot and ash staining his skin and clothes. Gavin doesn't have to fly far before he spots Michael sprinting through the sparse expanse of trees. Gavin pulls up short, swooping down and landing beside Michael, easily matching his pace.

"I'm glad I don't have to carry you Michael, you're pretty close to the clearing," He says cheerily, although his breathing is laboured. Michael doesn't have the breath to answer as he coughs and tries to breathe at the same time. Ray looks up skeptically as he see's Michael stumble out from the treeline, Gavin close behind him. Michael walks over to where Ray's sitting and collapses beside him, lying on his back as he tries to breathe.

"Too tired to carry him Gav?" Ray asks with a raised eyebrow.

"No! He was really close to here so I didn't want to carry him a few feet!" Gavin replies, sitting down in front of Ray and Michael with a concerned look. "Sorry for letting you breathe in the smoke for so long though, I hope you're ok."

"Far... from it," Michael huffs, sitting up and rubbing at his face. "That smoke...can...go fuck itself."

"I agree man," Ray laughs, clapping Michael's shoulder and grinning, "It makes it rough, but I think we're out of range for now." He looks up and is relieved as he doesn't see the telltale flickering of flames, or the sound of the Hunters.

"Why did you bring us here Gav?" Michael questions, able to form sentences after those few moments of rest.

"Oh! I saw a chimney!" Gavin exclaims, perking up, "It looked rather empty plus it's in the middle of nowhere," he grins in pride as Ray grins, but Michael doesn't seem to think it's the best idea.

"Gavin you fucking moron! We don't know if this fucking house is actually abandoned or not! Some people do prefer living in the middle of nowhere you dumbshit!" Michael yells, his voice becoming raspy at the end as he begins coughing. Ray flinches and puts a hand on Michael's shoulder as Gavin shrinks back, wings moving to block his face, a habitual movement.

"Dude, It's worth a try isn't it?" Ray asks, raising his eyebrow as Michael glares. They stare at each other before Michael sighs.

"Fine, but only because I can't run anymore."

Gavin grins, wings folding properly against his back as he jumps up."Might as well get walking, it's still a bit of a ways from here!"

Ray and Michael stand and begin following the now happier Brit. Michael's tail curls around his waist as he examines his arms, wincing a he begins to pull out one of the various glass shards that had buried themselves into his skin when the Dust containers had blown up.

Out of the corner of his eye he see's Ray's tail twitching as the cat man pokes at a burn on his arm. Gavin can feel his wings and back positively aching as he leads the other two Lads to the house he had seen. He let's his wings relax, letting a few of the feathers drag along the ground as he walks slower and slower, stopping abruptly as he spots the house. His heart sinks as he see's that the front window, although covered with curtains, is bright with light. Michael makes a sound of disappointment as well, sighing.

"Well, there goes that plan," he says, leaning against one of the trees on the edge of the small clearing the house was positioned in. Laughter leaks from the house, almost mocking them in a way.

"I'm not up for running anymore," Ray growls, ears flattening to his head as his tail swishes from side to side. "Time for Plan B," he declares, earning curious glances from Michael and Gavin. Before the two could stop him, Ray is standing in front of the door, hand raised to knock. Michael is the first to react, running forward with a protesting yell as Ray knocks loudly on the door, the laughter from inside stopping abruptly. Michael grabs ahold of one of Ray's arms as Gavin grabs the other, both pulling him backwards.

"We can still get away Ray!" Michael hisses.

"What're you thinking Ray!" Gavin says at the same time. Light floods over the Lads before they could move, temporarily blinding them.

"What the...?" a voice asks. The man in front of the door looks at the three men that are currently standing on the porch. Michael's tail is curled around a fence post to give him extra leverage on Ray's arm, which he quickly releases and his tail curls around his waist as soon as he can think again. Gavin's wings fold tightly against his back from their splayed position, and Ray is just grinning mischievously in the middle of them, although that smile fades and drops as he notices the man continues to stare shocked at them. His ears twitch as another voice speaks.

"Geoff who's at the door?" A deep voice asks, joining the tired looking man at the door, 'Geoff'.

"oh." the man says, eyebrows raising as only silence greets him.

* * *

**Authors Note:**

**FINALLY GOT IT OUT DAMN**  
**Ok, so this is the Faunus AU I have been working on for LITERALLY months, it is FAUNUS AU (aka RWBY based) which is why you notice mentions of Dust. Hunters are a group that hunt Faunus to sell for profit and/or kill them off. **

**if you couldn't tell, **

**Michael is a Monkey Faunus (like Sun)**

**Ray is a Cat Faunus (kinda like Blake)**

**Gavin is a Bird Faunus (because why the eff not)**

**I hope you guys enjoyed this! Make sure to check out my other RT/AH stories on here and/or review to this one! **

**I will most likely update sooner rather than later!**


	2. Not an Update

Sorry this isn't an update but I wanted to inform that I will now be posting this story on Archive Of Our Own under the same name, I've already updated a chapter, I apologize that I can't put a direct link but FF is a butt about all that. My other RT stories will also be posted on there.

My username is the same, rosesofenvy.

Sorry again!


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